It’s time for a homespun holiday—until a crafty culprit weaves murder into the festivities. . . Slay bells ring when the body of Arborville High School’s beloved art teacher (and annual Christmas card designer), Karma Karling, is discovered on the first day of the Holiday Craft Fair . . . Now, Pamela Paterson and the Knit and Nibble crew must swap swatching for sleuthing in order to put a Christmas killer on ice. Previously published in Christmas Card Murder

Everyone dreams of a picture-perfect small-town Christmas, but when murder is in the cards, some holiday greetings are addressed to kill . . . CHRISTMAS CARD MURDER by LESLIE MEIER In the midst of holiday home renovations, Lucy Stone unwraps a murder mystery decades in the making when she discovers an old Christmas card with a nasty message inside. The case may be colder than a New England Christmas, but Lucy’s determined to sort it out before Santa comes to town. DEATH OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL by LEE HOLLIS The Island Times Christmas soiree gets off to a scroogey start when Hayley Powell, Mona Barnes, and Rosana Moretti receive a Christmas card from the town flirt, Carol Waterman, who threatens to run off with one of their husbands! The ladies chalk it up to an imprudent prank . . . until they find Carol mistletoe-up under her tree . . . DEATH OF A CHRISTMAS CARD CRAFTER by PEGGY EHRHART Slay bells ring when the body of Arborville High School’s beloved art teacher (and annual Christmas card designer), Karma Karling, is discovered on the first day of the Holiday Craft Fair. Now, Pamela Paterson and the Knit and Nibble crew must swap swatching for sleuthing in order to put a Christmas killer on ice. “Entertaining . . . a welcome anthology. Cozy readers seeking undemanding escape from real-life holiday hoopla will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly

This is the story of one person. An errand boy, junior artist, car washer, cub, scout, choirboy, glass runner, wine waiter, postman, tomato plant and faggot stripper, potato picker, life guard, scout leader, canoe instructor, teacher, cattle rancher, polo player, forest and sawmill manager, head of English, logger, general manager, managing director, importer, exporter, businessman, outdoor pursuits instructor, fund raiser, headmaster, principal, CEO, school founder, advisor and appraiser, mentor, model, poet, playwright, writer and actor in the UK and many countries of Central, Southern and Western Africa through good times and bad. The author deals sympathetically with the nostalgia of a post-war childhood in Bristol, detailing with many of the joys and problems of childhood before leaping into adulthood with entertaining narrative and dialogue. Africa takes hold with many incidents and observations backed by humour and acute observations of post-colonial developments. Life was never dull and he has sat on crocodiles and slept with lions as well as experiencing coups and unrest where some humour can still be found. He has met royalty and personalities from a wide mixture of society and has also been a friend of presidents and heads of state – herein lies a tantalising mix of European and African life in a kaleidoscopic presentation of humour, pathos, seriousness and shrewd observation.

Paul Muldoon and the Language of Poetry is the first book in years that attends to the entire oeuvre of the Irish-American poet, critic, lyricist, dramatist and Princeton professor from his debut with New Weather in 1973 up to his very recent publications. Ruben Moi’s book explores, in correspondence with language philosophy and critical debate, how Muldoon’s ingenious language and inventive form give shape and significance to his poetry, and how his linguistic panache and technical verve keep language forever surprising, new and alive.